Dual-monitor deterministic hardware for visual stimuli generation in neuroscience experiments
- Resource Type
- Conference
- Authors
- Gazziro, Mario; Almeida, Lirio
- Source
- 2010 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), 2010 Annual International Conference of the IEEE. :1547-1549 Aug, 2010
- Subject
- Bioengineering
Signal Processing and Analysis
Robotics and Control Systems
Communication, Networking and Broadcast Technologies
Computing and Processing
Neurons
Visualization
Monitoring
Microelectrodes
US Department of Transportation
Synchronization
Generators
- Language
- ISSN
- 1094-687X
1558-4615
This article describes the development of a dual-monitor visual stimulus generator that is used in neuroscience experiments with invertebrates such as flies. The experiment consists in the visualization of two fixed images that are displaced horizontally according to the stimulus data. The system was developed using off-the-shelf FPGA kits and it is capable of displaying 640x480 pixels with 256 intensity levels at 200 frames per second (FPS) on each monitor. A Raster plot of the experiment with the superimposed stimuli was generated as the result of this work. A novel architecture was developed, using the same DOT Clock for both monitors, and its implementation generates a perfect synchronism in both devices.